Culture 17/11/2008 13:28:00 ← 1. Conquering Culture- from cincinnatus to Catullus • cincinnatus would have been shocked had he read the writings of Catullus, probably would not have even understood some of the charges • Catullus wrote some seriously hurtful things about Caesar • Two centuries before Catullus and Cicero, there was barely any Roman literature. o Only law codes, religious hymns, pamphlets o Plays were all handed down orally • The Romans went out and conquered to get their culture o We always talk about Greco-Roman Culture when we say Roman culture. The two are one and the same, Romans just pirated and shared Greek history. o When king Pyrrhus came over to help the Greeks, the Romans, from that point on, were in very close contact with the Greeks, lots of trading, involved in the slave trade at Delos o Legend of Romulus and Remus- an inscription of this story found dating back to the 3 rd century BC, first greek poetry and literature o Rome’s entry into the affairs in the east meant they needed propaganda to convince the Greeks they were more than savages, and were cultured. They declared Greece a free state, trying to win their favor • The roman culture comes from and is a result of the ruling, elite classes, not coming from the bottom up. • With lots of money, the Romans could buy works of art, as well as important

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